Lifestyle

Return to Rio

Sônia Bogner on her native Rio and the Big Event of summer 2016.

With the 2016 Summer Olympics starting soon, it’s hard to ignore the call of beautiful Rio de Janeiro. The connection Bogner has with the historical tropical paradise is of course profound: our own Sônia Bogner was born and raised there, and returns often for holiday and to visit her family, with her husband Willy Bogner frequently in tow. Sônia is naturally very fond of Rio: “the moment the plan lands,” she says, “I smell the air and know that I’m home.”

Even without the Olympic fever, Rio is a truly special place: as Sônia puts it, “it’s anything but ordinary – it’s the perfect mix of everyday and vacation. It’s a place where anything is possible.” Rio itself offers parks, mountains, luxury restaurants and chill bars, small boutiques… and some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the world. Clear waters and green forests, plus an unmistakable fresh smell in the air – Rio certainly is paradise.

"The air smells like home"

Truly special about the Rio 2016 Olympics is the return of golf as an Olympic sport after nearly 112 years. The last time golf was played on the Olympic arena was in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. At that time, only two nations participated in the golf event: the United States and Canada. This year, sixty men and sixty women from forty-one nations will be competing.

Willy & Sônia Bogner

The new golf course built in Rio specifically for the Olympic games is designed to be especially challenging, and promises to bring the absolute best out of all of the participating golfers. The 970,000sqm course was designed by American Gil Hanse, and offers a spectator capacity of 15,000. More than just a show is offered to spectators, however, with several interactive areas for fans to visit. After the big event is over, the new golf course will be used to help grow the game of golf in Brazil.

Of course, Sônia is very excited for the games in Rio, and very proud of her home city in that respect. “I’m also very excited to cheer on our own Klára Spilková as she represents her native Czech Republic on the golf course!” she shared. The Olympic games will start on Friday, August 5th and continue for sixteen days.